Woman tries to talk her way out of DUI arrest by calling herself a ‘white, clean girl,’ police say (Includes police video)
If you can’t watch the video above try this link
This is a small story but worth telling. It is significant that a story that might not even had made the local news. However, it was covered in The Washington Post. Online it wasn’t a top story but if you scrolled down the page it stood out.
It turns out it is a true national story. This is from Google News:
We are used to stories about police abusing their power (my dairy “I live in progressive Portland (OR) and this sickens me.” for example) and about their profiling minority groups. Racist cops stopping drivers for DWB is so common the abbreviation makes Wikipedia.
The statistics about how often the police shoot unarmed black men are chilling (see “Exactly How Often Do Police Shoot Unarmed Black Men?”)
I have no doubt that across the country there are examples every day where the police arrest “clean white girls” which never make the news. When I was an auxiliary officer we arrested lots of them for DUI. They often weren’t literally clean, which is why all police cars have back seats you can hose out at the end of the shift. I have some stories but they are too disgusting to share here.
This particular story may have made the national news because the police had video and audio recording of the sobriety test on the street and the conversation in the police car.
Thinking her privilege and presence might remedy her lawlessness, after Cutshaw was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence, she begged South Carolina’s finest not to haul her down to the station. “I’m a pretty girl, please, don’t make me go,” she said — a plea Bluffton officers rejected.
Later, at the precinct, police officer Baker Odom wrote in his report, Cutshaw went further. She said she was also a “thoroughbred” and “white, clean girl,” Odom wrote. When he asked what that meant, Cutshaw replied, “You’re a cop, you should know what that means based on the people that come in this room,” according to the report.
I’m glad the WaPo covered the story and that it was picked up nationally because it is such a clear demonstration of how this one case shows how ingrained racism is in our society. This is the real story.
In his report, the arresting officer wrote.
“Making statements such as these as a means to justify not being arrested are unusual in my experience as a law enforcement officer and I believe further demonstrate the suspect’s level of intoxication.”
He seems to be saying that she was so drunk she thought appealing to the officer’s assumed racism might keep her from being arrested.
While intoxicated drivers may make stupid statements what this demonstrates isn’t just a Hail Mary attempt to avoid being arrested, it shows how racist this woman is. I wonder if she is a Trump supporter.
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Yesterday’s dairy is just as timely today as it was when I wrote it. Trump v. Mueller: He thinks he can best former Marine captain in a face-to-face interview
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